3 Tips to Finding the Right Veterinarians for Your Pets

Pets add a lot of fun, love, and care to our life. That’s why taking care of them should be a priority. If your veterinarian recently retired and you’re looking for a new one, here are a few tips from Prevention on how you can find the right veterinarians for your pets.

1. Find one before you need one. If you’re changing addresses or going on a trip and you’re taking your pets with you, make sure you find a veterinarian, a good one, in the area. Do your research beforehand. You don’t want to end up in a shabby animal hospital with vets who don’t know the first thing about compassionate pet care or responsible use of sedation drugs. If you get into an emergency, you won’t have time to be picky. You’ll head straight for the first one you see. Time is of the essence, after all. So before you get into that situation, make sure you’re prepared for it. Otherwise, your pet could pay the price.

2. Do your research. What do all great people share? They don’t stop learning. And that’s the quality you want to find in your veterinarian. So make sure you check for credentials. Did they do internships? Are the doctors qualified? If the educational background of the veterinarians isn’t onsite, call the clinic or hospital and ask. Do they have abbreviations after their names? Then that could mean they did extra training in other medical areas which make them a great bet. This will handily narrow down your list.

3. Meet the veterinarians. Put in a call to each of the names on your list and then make appointments. Expect to run herd on your pets for the entire morning or at least until the series of appointments are over. Then take note of many things when you step into the clinic. Does it look clean and sanitized? Are there enough staff? Are the staff accommodating or are they rude? And when you finally meet the vet, does he seem knowledgeable? Is he skilled? Can you feel like you can trust him with the health and welfare of your pets? It doesn’t even matter if you find the right fit with the first appointment you have. So long as everything clicks, go for it.

All in all, finding the right veterinarians for your pets can take time but if you end up with someone perfect, then that is time incredibly well spent.